The Marrying Type

by Laura Chapman

  “You can still change your mind if you have any doubts.”

  “No, I can’t.”

  His heart stopped. “Why not?”

  “We signed a contract and put down a deposit.”

  Well, damn. If his sister had signed with Engagements, that was it. He might as well stop dragging this out and be the supportive brother Sadie needed. “Tell me about your planner.”

  “Her name is Elliot. She’s the youngest daughter,” Sadie said. “Engagements is a family business, though it sounds like Elliot will handle most of the details herself.”

  “Did you meet the rest of the family?”

  “No. Elliot said her father and sister are busy with other projects.”

  “Interesting.” He frowned at the phone. If they were anything like he remembered, Walter and Libby weren’t busy with projects. They were busy living large and leaving Elliot to do the heavy work.

  And now he was feeling sorry for Elliot. Damn, damn, damn. Why had he offered to get involved with his sister’s wedding plans? “You’re sure you want her?”

  “Yes.” Her happy tone was replaced by irritation. “You were the one who—”

  “I just want to make sure you’re 100 percent happy with who you’ve picked,” he interrupted. He took a deep breath, willing the anger to leave before he spoke again. “It sounds like you are.”

  “I am.”

  “Good.” He reached behind his neck to massage the muscles growing more and more tense by the moment. “I have a few more meetings to wrap up here this week before I head east. Boring stuff. But I’ll be there next week, and I’m yours for the summer.”

  “You don’t have to help with the plans if you’re busy.”

  “I want to help. Mom can’t get away from work, and . . . I want to be around.” He took a deep breath. He was probably going to regret this later, but he needed to make a grand gesture for his baby sister. “How about you set up a meeting with this planner once I’m in the area?”

  “I’ll do that. Have I told you lately you’re the world’s best brother?”

  “It’s easy when I have you for a sister.” he said. “You can usually get me to do just about anything for you. Even check out china patterns. Please don’t ask me to check out china patterns.”

  They bantered back and forth for a few minutes before she hung up to go to bed. Eric turned off his phone and watched the sun disappear below the horizon. What had he gotten himself into?

  From The Marrying Type Transcript

  Filmed: June

  Airing: October

  Announcer: Tensions are mounting as Charleston wedding planner Elliot Lynch tries to pull off another high-society affair. And once again, feuding families are the culprit.

  Elliot: Weddings tend to be a stressful time for many people. As a wedding planner, my mission is to keep the bride and groom’s stress to a minimum. They deserve to enjoy their special day no matter what goes on behind the scenes.

  Announcer: But not every wedding goes off without a hitch.

  Elliot: Unfortunately, sometimes . . . unexpected circumstances arise, and we can’t prevent them. When they do, my job becomes . . . more complicated. I have to do what I can to reduce . . . the fallout.

  Announcer: And how does our favorite Charleston wedding planner deal with a pair of future in-laws who spring a prenuptial agreement on the bride the morning of her big day?

  Elliot: No comment.

  Chapter Six

  “To keep your marriage brimming,

  With love in the loving cup,

  Whenever you're wrong, admit it;

  Whenever you're right, shut up.”

  ~ Ogden Nash

  THE ANDERSON NUPTIALS were off to a shaky start. Logistically, the wedding was in almost perfect shape. Lesson learned from his earlier confrontation with Elliot, the florist had arrived ahead of schedule with the bouquets and centerpieces ready to go. Part of the catering staff was in the kitchen preparing the dinner, while the other half-finished setting the tables in the tent.

  Even the ice sculpture luge was in place at the bar, ready for the cocktail hour to begin promptly after the couple said “I do.”

  This wedding’s complications made a problem with flowers or table seating arrangements sound like a dream. Still dealing with the prenup, the bride had disappeared hours earlier. On top of that, the maid of honor might not make it down the aisle. The bottle of champagne she’d downed—by herself—during hair and makeup had made her more than a little annoying.

  It didn’t help that Heloise, the rogue maid of honor, also happened to be Chase’s little sister. Like today’s clients—the Andersons—Elliot’s family and theirs had been friends for generations. They all went to school and took dance classes together. With that lifetime connection came a mixture of baggage, some good and bad.

  Chase’s little sister, Heloise, had a long history of getting drunk at weddings, or anywhere with a bar. When Chase married Marissa, Heloise had to be snuck out the back door at the reception to avoid public embarrassment. Elliot hoped it wouldn’t come to that today. Not with a camera crew present and a room full of lawyers still negotiating a prenup in one of the spare rooms.

  Based on her behavior thus far, Elliot wondered if Heloise would be able to stand through the ceremony. When would people learn they shouldn’t ask her to be in their weddings?

  Elliot wished Marissa and Chase would help wrangle their sister, but they were busy following the prenup drama, hoping for a decent shot. The maid of honor’s shrill laughter pierced the air again. Elliot clenched her teeth and said a silent prayer.

  God, give me the strength not to throttle her.

  Elliot intercepted Claire a few seconds later. “Can you manage the maid of honor, or should I?”

  “Would you?” Claire winced when Elliot frowned. “I’m sorry. She hates me almost as much as she hates her sister-in-law.” Claire darted a nervous glance over Elliot’s shoulder and caught Heloise glaring. “She likes you. She’ll actually listen to you.”

  “I doubt she’ll listen to anyone right now.” Heloise was sprawled out ungracefully on the chaise in the main office, oblivious to the trouble she’d caused.

  “You’ve got that right,” Marissa chimed in. Chase offered a sympathetic half-grin from behind his camera before frowning at his wife.

  Disappointed with their inability to get a shot of the bride, groom, or anyone else involved with the prenup, they’d abandoned their mission. With Heloise being the only subject of interest for the moment, they had no choice but to go where the action was.

  “I can’t understand why your sister has never liked me.” Marissa tucked her reporting notepad in the back pocket of her dress pants. Elliot offered her a bottle of water and she silently declined. “Heloise has always had a vendetta against me.”

  “You aren’t always easy to get along with,” Chase said.

  “I’m a peach compared to her.” Crossing her arms, Marissa frowned at her sister-in-law. Heloise shifted her position, pulling up the skirt of her long organza gown to flash a hint of the thong she wore underneath. “I might be a little . . . terse sometimes, but I’m never mean.”

  Elliot avoided making eye contact with either Chase or Marissa, understanding the main source of her cousin’s irritation. Elliot and Chase had a past of sorts. Nothing serious. They’d grown up together, and unbeknownst to Elliot at the time, he’d had a crush on her throughout high school. The summer after their sophomore year of college, Chase made a move on Elliot.

  While she wasn’t interested in dating him—or anyone at the time—she had introduced him to Marissa. They’d fallen in love and were married a few years later. Now they had a dog and a small TV production company together. Chase and Elliot’s non-past meant nothing, but Heloise liked to use it as ammo against her sister-in-law whenever the fancy struck her.

  Like the time Heloise’s mom had given Marissa a set of her grandmother’s china. Rather than saying, “Mom, I was hoping to get the Wedgewo
od tea set,” she’d made a passive aggressive comment about how Elliot would’ve never wanted it, because the Lynch family already had one.

  Marissa claimed her sister-in-law’s words didn’t bother her, but they always left nasty tension in the air. Elliot hoped Heloise would keep the comments and snide remarks to herself today. They would only make the situation a million times worse.

  Elliot snuck into the kitchen to pick up a tall coffee. The caffeine wouldn’t magically make Heloise sober, but maybe the jolt would keep her from passing out. On impulse, she dropped a breath mint in the cup. With any luck, the taste would trick Heloise into believing she was drinking a peppermint liquor-laced beverage. Cup in hand, she marched back to the other room.

  “Heeeeeeyyyy, Elliot,” Heloise sang as she approached. She spread her arms wide for a hug. When she didn’t get one, Heloise turned to the bridesmaid keeping her propped up on the chaise. “Hey, hey, hey. Come meet Elliot. Isn’t she the best? I love her. She’s sweet, and pretty, and low maintenance. Not like my brother’s wife.”

  Fortunately, Marissa and Chase had gone back to the bride’s dressing room hoping for another shot at capturing the drama. Even the small jab might push one of them too far. The other bridesmaid rolled her eyes, clearly using up the last of her patience. Time to act fast.

  “Heloise, sweetheart, I brought you this special drink.” Elliot tried to make her voice sound chipper. She needed to keep Heloise in the happy drunk phase. If possible, she might elevate to high-functioning drunk before the ceremony, but Elliot wouldn’t hold her breath. She’d take happy over the alternative. One wrong move and Heloise would have no problem making a scene.

  Elliot placed the cup in Heloise’s hands. She held the cup steady as the other woman bent at the waist to inspect the steaming liquid more closely.

  “Coffee?”

  “Yes, but a special coffee I made for you.” Elliot winked and caught the other bridesmaid’s horrified expression. She shook her head to silently indicate the drink was alcohol free. The other woman visibly relaxed.

  “Oh.” Heloise gazed into the cup with a goofy grin. “A magical drink. Thank you, Elliot. You know what?”

  “What?”

  “Sometimes,” she spoke in a stage whisper, “I wish you were my real sister. Why didn’t you go out with Chase? You would have been a much better sister-in-law.”

  “Here you go.” Elliot lifted the cup to Heloise’s lips. “Drink a little more. We need you to get this party going.”

  “Elliot?” Claire called from across the room. “The bride needs to see you.”

  “Can you manage her?” Elliot asked the other bridesmaid.

  “Not my favorite job, but sure.” The bridesmaid glanced worriedly toward the other room. “You need to take care of our bride. She's been locked up with the lawyers and her future in-laws the whole morning.”

  Marissa and Chase were standing outside the bride’s dressing room, ears pressed to the door. They pulled back quickly. While Chase had the good manners to look contrite, Marissa stood tall, hands on her hips, daring Elliot to call her out.

  When she didn’t—because who had the energy for a fight with a producer willing to stop at nothing for a shot?—Marissa relaxed her hands.

  “I’ll make you a deal,” she said.

  “What?”

  “I’ll have Chase call his parents to deal with their drunken disaster of a daughter. Until they get here, I’ll run interference and make sure she doesn’t flash the groomsmen or try to kiss the priest.”

  “She was eyeing Father Hayter.” Chase shook his head. “I’ve told her he isn’t interested at least a dozen times.”

  Cold panic flushed through Elliot at the mental image of Heloise pinning the poor priest against a wall. If she’d realized it was a possibility in the first place, she never would have left the other room. She had to do something. “What do you need from me?”

  “Get me a one-on-one interview with the bride and groom, and we’re even. Get them to let me film a little of this fight, and I’ll owe you one.”

  Elliot pursed her lips. “Just one?”

  “Okay, two.” Marissa waved her hand. “You’ve got me. I’m desperate. Will you do it?”

  This crossed more lines than Elliot cared to count, but she had to weigh the options. Help Marissa capitalize on the serious family throw down happening behind closed doors and avoid a major scene that might include terrorizing a man of the cloth? Or tell her no, saving the family from public scrutiny, but risk having the priest run out before the ceremony?

  In the end, she didn’t have to make the decision alone. The bride cracked the door open and poked her head out. “Elliot, I need you.” Catching sight of the cameraman and producer, she added, “You can bring them, too.”

  Elliot followed her in, but blocked the doorway. “Go. Do your end of the bargain first while I deal with this.”

  Marissa tried to elbow her way in, but one glare from her husband changed her tune.

  “Make sure to handle Heloise without drawing much attention,” Elliot whispered, twisting the chain of her pearl pendant necklace. “Today has enough drama in it without your parents and sister-in-law getting into a public shouting match.”

  Marissa hesitated, but stopped Elliot before she ran away to slay her next dragon.

  “I need to tell you something.”

  Elliot paused midstep and looked up from her clipboard.

  “I found out Heloise will be in another wedding this summer. One of your events. A big one.”

  Her heart sank. She could already guess the answer, but asked anyway. “She’s in the Warner-Crawford wedding, isn’t she?”

  Marissa nodded.

  Elliot almost broke one of her cardinal rules, but she managed to keep the swear word unspoken in front of the cameras.

  SOMEHOW THE REST OF the Anderson ceremony went smoothly. To the guests who sat in the garden watching the couple exchange vows, the whole event seemed effortless.

  What a fraud. Even without Heloise’s drunken outbursts behind the scenes, the day had enough problems on its own. The biggest one involved legalities. Up until thirty minutes before the wedding, the bride and groom refused to sign the prenup.

  With Chase filming the whole scene, the groom marched into the bride’s dressing room and ripped up the papers in front of their gaping parents. He didn’t want to plan for a divorce, because it wouldn’t happen. If it did, he wanted a fight. He loved her too much to end their marriage without one. The bride naturally burst into tears.

  Elliot kept her eyes focused on the clipboard to avoid shedding her own. The whole ordeal played out so beautifully, she didn’t even mind the camera crew caught every second.

  The families backed down. They agreed to let the couple have their way. Elliot soothed the emotional bride and fixed her makeup and veil. The whole time, Elliot assured the bride no one would care if she kept crying through the ceremony. Brides got a free pass for tears on their wedding day.

  She sighed in relief once everyone reached the altar.

  The reception had been as spectacular as the bride and groom hoped. The ice sculptures, fountains, candles, and flowers were perfect. The place settings were unique, and the bride made it through the meal without crying.

  As promised, Chase’s parents had arrived in time for the reception to monitor their daughter’s behavior. Heloise’s mother had cornered Elliot in the restrooms to thank her for helping. She’d been mortified by her daughter’s behavior and only relaxed after Elliot assured her it was okay.

  Only after the bride and groom had their send-off did Elliot take a short break before helping with teardown. She snuck out of the ballroom and found privacy in the adjoining garden. She carried the one glass of champagne she was going to permit herself after a tough night. Sitting on a bench, she kicked off her three-inch heels. Her poor arches never seemed to grow accustomed to the long hours spent in formal footwear.

  Raising the glass, she sipped and a little of the tensi
on escaped her body. She breathed in the night air and held it. The scent of roses and lilacs mingled with the salt soothed her more.

  Halfway through the glass, she was almost herself again.

  “Didn’t anyone tell you it’s a bad habit to drink alone?”

  Elliot glanced up at Rosalyn. Still elegant as ever in a pair of jeans with a blush-colored blouse, she’d apparently stopped by to help at the end of the night.

  Rather than thank her, which would have only caused Rosalyn embarrassment, Elliot teased instead. “Didn’t anyone tell you it’s rude to pry in other people’s business?”

  Rosalyn laughed and joined Elliot on the bench. “It’s a good thing your business is my business.” She raised her own glass of white wine and tapped it against Elliot’s. “Now you aren’t drinking alone.”

  “It seems our problems are solved.”

  “Your sarcasm won’t work on me,” Rosalyn said. “You only get snippy like this when you’re hungry, which is why I brought you these.”

  She thrust a small plate of shrimp and cheese at Elliot. “Eat this,” she said. “You’ll thank me later. You might want to add some orange juice to that champagne. Your blood sugar is probably low.”

  Elliot bit into a piece of shrimp. Her stomach grumbled. When was the last time she’d eaten? Breakfast?

  “Thanks. Sorry for my bad attitude—I’m lousy company tonight. Today turned out to be more challenging than I’d anticipated.”

  “I imagine.” Rosalyn cocked an eyebrow. “Marissa filled me in on a few of the highlights. You handled everything wonderfully.”

  “Well . . .”

  “Take the compliment, dear.” Rosalyn patted her shoulder, soothing some of the tension still in them. “I heard nothing but good things about you and this event from everyone, including the new in-laws. I figured they would have ripped each other’s hair out after the nasty business with the prenup.”

  Marissa needed to watch her gossip. Rosalyn might be a friend, but she didn’t need to hear about the couple’s drama.